


keep your eyes on me

by claypigeons



Category: Cobra Kai (Web Series), Karate Kid (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Dirty Dancing Fusion, Dirty Dancing, Light Angst, M/M, Slow Burn, enemies to dance partners to lovers, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-05
Updated: 2021-01-05
Packaged: 2021-03-16 02:02:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28574211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/claypigeons/pseuds/claypigeons
Summary: Johnny made the mistake of raising his eyes again and saw Daniel looking him over. Feeling the need to say something, anything, Johnny blurted out, “I carried a watermelon.”Or: The Dirty Dancing AU That Literally No One Asked For
Relationships: Daniel LaRusso/Johnny Lawrence
Comments: 19
Kudos: 69





	keep your eyes on me

**Author's Note:**

> some disclaimers: i've never been to a resort, i know nothing about dancing, and i have played extremely fast and loose with canon here. also this is my first ever fic so. apologies in advance. yeehaw

Johnny hadn’t always hated summer, back when it meant spending the days at the beach instead of dealing with highschool bullshit. But now, nearing the end of an uncomfortable drive to the Catskills, Johnny wished he’d just stayed away for summer school instead of letting his mom guilt him into coming on a “family vacation” to New York that was really just some kind of excuse for Sid to schmooze with old work buddies. Whatever. Johnny didn’t know anything about how to kill time in the mountains, but he’d figure it out.  


It was evening when they finally pulled up to the resort entrance, Johnny staying slumped in the backseat while Sid got out with his mom and introduced her to a few families standing around. Johnny was starting to hope he’d been forgotten about in the car when a girl came up and said something to one of the men, who said something to Sid, who made a summoning motion at Johnny, who heaved a sigh and got out of the car, forcing his face into pleasant blankness.  


“Johnny!” Sid said, “This is Mark, old friend of mine.” They exchanged a nod, and Mark’s smile seemed friendly enough. “This is his daughter, Amanda. Amanda, this is Johnny.”  


The girl - Amanda - stuck out her hand and said “Nice to meet you.” Johnny shook her hand without saying a word. He smiled, but he could still see Sid and his mother looking vaguely disappointed from the corner of his eye, and he realized this was some sort of setup that he hadn’t played along with. Amanda didn’t seem phased, just raised an eyebrow and dropped her hand back to her side.  


After a moment, Mark cleared his throat. “Well,” he said, “I guess I’ll let you guys get settled in. I’ll see you at dinner?”  


Sid asked him a couple questions about seating before they shook hands again and Mark walked off with Amanda. Johnny quickly grabbed his luggage and went inside their cabin, shutting himself in the room he was told would be his for the trip. It was blank, boring, white walls and a plain desk in the corner, a small dresser and closet. Johnny sat on the edge of the bed and looked around, bored out of his mind after a few minutes. He wasn’t some kind of nerd, but suddenly he did sort of wish he’d brought a book to read or something to keep him busy. He lay down on his back and looked up at the ceiling. Christ, this was going to be a long trip.  


Eventually, there was a knock on the door. When Johnny opened it, his mother was standing there fiddling with a bracelet, smiling at him. “Dinner’s in fifteen minutes, honey,” she said, “Get changed soon, okay? Wear something nice.” Johnny hummed and nodded, and his mother patted his cheek twice before walking back to her room to finish getting ready.  


Johnny shut the door gently and rested his forehead against it. He had a sudden urge to scream into his pillow or hit something, impressed with himself for breathing his way through the feeling. He knew that dinner was going to be uncomfortable and awkward, the same way it always was when he went somewhere new. If it was anything like the country club back home, chances were that he’d be shoved into conversation with some rich girl his age that his mother liked because she wanted the best for him. Sid never went as far as approving any of the attempted matches, but he didn’t prevent them, either. Johnny had a feeling that he just liked watching him squirm, always out of his element, insecure and constantly worried that all the born-rich snobs would realize he didn’t belong there and start pointing and laughing. He never felt like he got any better at faking it, though, just got so wound up that he came across as another rich asshole who thought he was better than everyone else, which was the last thing he wanted to be, which made him more tense, which made him more irritated, which just made him - well. It was sort of a vicious cycle.  


He changed into something he thought would be acceptable for dinner, hated it, changed his shirt, decided he liked the first one better. Messed with his hair in the mirror a little bit and immediately felt stupid for doing so. Right as he began seriously considering fleeing the resort and faking his own death, his mother was knocking on the door again and telling him it was time to go. He stepped back from the mirror, set his jaw, and walked out the door to join her and Sid. After a short, silent walk, they arrived at the main hall. Johnny knew he was doomed when he saw a man that he soon recognized as Mark rapidly approaching them from across the lawn, waving at Sid and guiding them all inside to a table where his wife and Amanda were already seated.  


Once they were sitting down, Mark quickly pulled Sid into a conversation, and his wife and Johnny’s mother began talking about their plans for their time at the resort. After some awkward silence, Johnny heard Amanda clear her throat and say, “So, are you actually mute, or do you just not like me?” She said it lightly enough that it was clear she wasn’t actually hurt, but Johnny still cringed a little. He angled towards her and rubbed the back of his neck.  


“Yeah,” he said, “Sorry, uh, about earlier.” And he was - Amanda really did seem nice enough, unlike some of the girls his mom had tried to set him up with in the past. She was pretty, too, with her blue eyes and curly brown hair. When he noticed that her lipstick matched her nail polish, Johnny began to feel severely out of his depth.  


Amanda hummed and sipped her water. After a moment, she asked, “Is this your first time here? I haven’t seen you before.”  


Johnny snorted and said, “What, you would’ve remembered me? Are you gonna ask me next if I come here often?” The corner of Amanda’s mouth quirked up and Johnny felt a little more at ease. “Actually, though,” he added, “I’ve never even been in New York before now. I am a complete Catskills virgin.” He winked at her and she raised her eyebrows, hiding a laugh behind her water. “I’m guessing you’re a regular?”  


Amanda nodded. “It’s been a couple years, but my dad insisted that we come out this year, something about celebrating my first year as an adult at ‘real school.’” She put up air quotes on the last two words before going back to pushing salad around on her plate.  


Johnny thought she looked almost embarrassed about it. He wondered if she somehow also felt a little out of place here and asked, “What are you studying?”  


Amanda gave him a real smile and said, “English. Officially, I want to be a teacher, but I’m actually planning on going to law school after I graduate.” She leaned in and stage whispered, “Just don’t tell my dad.” They laughed a little and she asked, “What about you, what are you doing?”  


Johnny felt his smile fall a little. He took a deep breath and said, “Business,” then went back to looking at his plate. If he had any luck, Amanda would leave him alone about it, move on to the next area of small talk. He really didn’t want to get into it, any of it, Sid or his grades or how goddamn unhappy he was. Because that was the truth, wasn’t it, despite everything he told his mother so he wouldn’t have to see her disappointed in him, again. He didn’t know how much more of that either of them could take, but he also didn’t know if he could make himself keep up with those silver-spoon assholes in his classes who thought Johnny had always been part of their club, when really he just wanted to kick them in the teeth most days. He never said anything, obviously - why would he? Blending in meant keggers and babes and “networking opportunities,” which was everything he ever wanted. Right?  


Johnny saw Amanda frown and start to open her mouth, but he was saved by someone on stage with a microphone, saying, “Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen!” It took a few moments, but the hall quieted down to listen. “I hope you all had a lovely meal,” he continued. “And now, it is my pleasure to announce our stars of the evening, Daniel LaRusso and partner Ali Mills!” After a round of applause, a man and a woman walked out on stage and bowed before getting into position. Johnny turned to face the front of the room, looking resolutely forward. He was just glad for the excuse not to look at Amanda; it’s not like he was interested in the performance, or anything, whatever it was going to be. He wasn’t into this kind of stuff, never had been.  


But then the band started playing and the dancers started moving and - oh. This was something entirely new to Johnny, fluid and close and intense. They were moving across the stage like it meant something, like it was the only way to have any feeling. When the man - Daniel - dipped his partner, quick and almost violent, Johnny caught himself clenching his fist where it lay on his leg, and he had to make a concentrated effort to relax. He kept trying to tell himself this was stupid - come on, it was just dancing, he didn’t even like dancing, what kind of guy likes dancing - but he couldn’t stop himself from watching, enraptured, for the rest of the performance. When the song ended, the pair bowed again, and the floor opened up for everyone else in the hall. Daniel and Ali jumped down off the stage and continued dancing among everyone else, less flashy but not any less intense.  


“Johnny,” a voice said, and he jumped when a hand touched his shoulder. He realized he hadn’t noticed Amanda trying to get his attention. “Hey,” she said, smiling a little, “You wanna dance?”  


Johnny looked down at where her hand had landed on his wrist and almost said yes, but then he glanced at the dance floor and caught a glimpse of everyone, Daniel and Ali spinning in the center, and his mouth went dry. “Actually,” he said, standing up, “I’m gonna, um. I need some air.” When Amanda looked disappointed, he was quick to add, “I’ll be right back,” even though he knew he wouldn’t. He patted her hand and took off for the nearest exit.  


Outside, Johnny took a deep breath, picked a random direction, and started walking. He told himself he was just feeling antisocial and overwhelmed, that he wanted to get out of there so Amanda would leave him alone, so he wouldn’t have to deal with everyone in there talking and dancing and laughing while the band played loudly. And sure, that was part of it, but Johnny also kept trying to skirt around the image of Daniel and Ali dancing on that stage, the way he’d closed his fist so tightly it hurt. He didn’t know what it - any of it - meant, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to find out. He just kept walking in the damp grass, hands in his pockets, failing miserably at keeping his head empty. Eventually he gave up and sat down on some grass under a tree, idly tearing apart a leaf near his foot.  


White flats entered Johnny’s line of sight, and one kicked him gently in the leg. He looked up to see Amanda standing over him with her arms crossed and her eyebrows raised again. “Listen,” she said, “Not that it’s any of my business but are you alright?” When Johnny didn’t answer, she sighed and said, “Fine. Anyways, I know a couple guys who work here, you wanna go actually have some fun?” She held out her hand. Johnny didn’t know what to say, just furrowed his brow and stared at it. “Come on,” Amanda said, like she was trying not to laugh at him, “What else are you going to do?” Johnny took her hand and pulled himself up.  


They started walking across the lawn, shoulders bumping every now and then. Johnny felt awkward in the silence, in being led around. He cleared his throat. “So,” he said, “What kind of fun are we talking about?” He looked at Amanda and waggled his eyebrows a little, gratified when she let out a breathy laugh.  


“Just a staff party, nothing too crazy. But,” she added, poking Johnny in the shoulder, “If you rat on any of us, I will kill you.”  


Johnny laughed and looked at her, said, “Yeah, I’d like to see you try.”  


Amanda crossed her arms again, pulled herself up tall and said, “Oh, you think I’m joking, but you’d better watch out, Johnny.” She stuck her foot out in front of him and he tripped over it a little bit, almost went sprawling on the grass. Laughing, Amanda ran ahead of him towards a bungalow, throwing her arms around some guy standing outside that seemed happy to see her. Johnny stopped just outside the circle of light from the building, suddenly feeling out of place. Amanda said something to the guy she was talking to, then turned and waved Johnny over.  


“Hey,” she said, “Come meet Bobby!” Johnny walked up, and they introduced themselves and shook hands.  


“I was just about to head over to the party,” said Bobby, “Amanda said you’re coming?” Johnny nodded, and Bobby smiled and clapped his hands. “Great! One second.” He ran inside the bungalow and emerged a few seconds later carrying…watermelons? He nodded at Johnny and said, “Grab one of these, will ya? You’re a lifesaver.”  


Johnny, unsure of what to do, took one. He looked at Amanda who smiled and nodded at him like this was a completely normal series of events. Her and Bobby started walking, and Johnny followed a few paces behind. They seemed like good friends, making each other laugh every few seconds. After a couple minutes, they got to the staff quarters. Johnny could hear music coming from the main cabin, and when Amanda opened the door for him and Bobby, his jaw dropped.  


Inside was a crowd of people dancing, like what Johnny had seen onstage earlier only dialed up to eleven. Everyone was so close, moving like liquid, in a way that seemed almost dirty, somehow. Amanda caught sight of someone and ran off, leaving Johnny to follow Bobby to a table in the back of the room where they set down the watermelons.  


“Where’d, um.” Johnny realized he sounded strangled and cleared his throat. “Where’d they learn to do all that?” He gestured vaguely out at the room.  


Bobby gave him a look and said, “What, dancing? I don’t know.” He looked like he was going to add something, but the door to the room slammed open again, followed by a round of cheers from the crowd. Johnny turned and watched Daniel and Ali enter and dance their way across the floor. Johnny thought he’d been caught off guard during dinner, but that was nothing compared to the way his heart sped up now. At his side, Bobby nudged his shoulder and said, yelling slightly to be heard over the music, “That’s Daniel and Ali, they helped me get this job. Aren’t they great?”  


“Yeah,” Johnny said, “They’re fantastic together.” Bobby nodded and opened his mouth, but whatever he said was lost to Johnny when Daniel looked his way and caught his eye for a moment from the center of the room. Johnny felt the blood rush to his face and looked at the floor.  


Bobby was still talking, saying something about, “When we were kids,” but the rest of the sentence got drowned out as he ducked and reached under the table, bringing out a couple of beers and handing one to Johnny, who drained half of the bottle in one go. He was wiping his mouth on the back of his hand when he saw Daniel shimmy up next to Bobby. Johnny looked at the floor again, which made him feel stupid, so he looked back up, but then he found himself unable to meet Daniel’s gaze and immediately dropped his eyes back to his shoes.  


“What’s he doing here?” asked Daniel, and Johnny clenched his jaw when he realized he was talking about him.  


“Came with me,” said Bobby, “Friend of Amanda’s or something.”  


Johnny made the mistake of raising his eyes again and saw Daniel looking him over. Feeling the need to say something, anything, Johnny blurted out, “I carried a watermelon.” Daniel raised his eyebrows for a second, and then he scoffed and turned away to rejoin the crowd. Johnny heaved a sigh and leaned back against the table, looking up at the ceiling and refusing to acknowledge Bobby laughing next to him. He finished his beer.  


Just then, Amanda appeared, pressing a plastic cup into Johnny’s hand and saying, “I see you met Daniel.”  


“They really hit it off,” Bobby said sarcastically. “Did you know that Johnny carried a watermelon?”  


Amanda laughed into her cup, but before Johnny could yell at them - because who the hell did they think they were? - he accidentally caught Daniel’s eye again. He thought maybe he was lucky enough to have it go unnoticed, but Daniel passed Ali off to someone else and headed towards the table. Shit. He stopped just in front of Johnny and held out a hand. Johnny looked at it, then over to Amanda, who just took his cup and nodded at him. He looked back at Daniel.  


“C’mon, prettyboy,” Daniel said, “You crash a party, the least you can do is give me a dance.”  


“I wasn’t aware I was crashing a party,” Johnny said, indignant, and then Daniel laughed and grabbed his hand and pulled them both to the middle of the dance floor. Johnny stood, frozen, while Daniel started moving. After a few seconds, he shot Johnny a look.  


“Come on,” Daniel said, stepping closer, “You’re no fun.”  


Johnny meant to tell him to fuck off or something, really, he did, but somewhere between his brain and his mouth the words got caught in Daniel’s eager look and instead came out as: “I don’t know how to dance.”  


Daniel smirked at him and said, “Alright, I can work with that,” and then his hands were on Johnny’s shoulders and he was pushing him a little and telling him to bend his knees and doing something with his hips that left Johnny’s mouth dry. Daniel, still moving, snapped in Johnny’s face and said, “Hey, look at me.” Johnny looked up, and Daniel smiled. “Okay, great,” he said, eyes shining. “Now start moving.”  


Johnny did not start moving. He was paralyzed, knowing he looked stupid in the crowded room, but also knowing that he would look even more stupid if he started trying to dance and oh God Daniel’s hands were on his hips. Johnny’s eyes snapped down to look as Daniel started moving them in a circle.  


“Hey,” Daniel said, removing a hand to tip Johnny’s chin up until they were face to face again, “Eyes on me, remember?”  


Johnny swallowed. He didn’t have time to fully react before Daniel was dancing again, hands back on Johnny’s hips and moving them in small circles. Daniel laughed, and Johnny felt anger flare hot in his chest, but then Daniel said, “See? You’re a natural.” He stepped even further into Johnny’s space, and Johnny was abruptly unable to process anything beyond Daniel’s hand on his hip, snaking around his waist, and the way they were suddenly pressed together. Daniel grabbed Johnny’s wrists and slung them over his shoulders, so that his arms ended up draped around Daniel’s neck, Daniel’s hand dropped back down to rest on Johnny’s waist.  


They stayed like that for a while, Daniel stopping every now and then to correct something Johnny was doing before picking back back up, always somehow even closer than before. Johnny didn’t stop feeling stupid, but he did start letting himself enjoy it, caught up in Daniel’s enthusiasm and the way he smiled wide when Johnny did something right. At the end of the song, Daniel dipped Johnny, almost all the way to the floor, and when he pulled him back up their foreheads were resting together while they both caught their breath. Daniel closed his eyes and laughed a little, softly. When he opened them again he looked like he was about to say something, but then another song started and Ali came up behind him and spun him into her arms.  


Daniel went willingly, enthusiastically, and Johnny felt his stomach drop as he watched them move away. He felt cold, suddenly, without the heat of Daniel pressed up against him, unsure what to do now that he didn’t have someone guiding him. He looked around the room at everyone still dancing around him, and the feeling of being out of place hit him in a wave. He saw Amanda, dancing with Bobby. She met his eye and smiled, and started to make her way over.  


Johnny felt stupid, embarrassed, and realized that he didn’t want anyone to look at him, let alone talk to him. He bolted, practically running out the door of the room, rushing back out into the cool night air. He wandered around aimlessly, hands in his pockets and eyes on the ground. Eventually he came to a stop at the edge of the lake, and stood there staring out over the dark water. He realized he could see a lot more stars out here than he could back home.  


Shit, he thought, God fucking damn it.  


His mom and Sid were still out when Johnny got back to their cabin. Small miracles. Johnny got in bed and resolutely ignored every thought he had about dancing and Daniel LaRusso until he fell asleep. 

***

The next day started off fairly uneventful. When Johnny told his mom after breakfast that he was going to go see if Amanda wanted to spend the day with him, she beamed and told him to be back in time for dinner on his way out the door.  


Johnny wandered around for about half an hour looking for Amanda - the resort wasn’t huge, but it was split up into a sort of stupid amount of sections and activities that he had to check. He finally found her lounging on a chair by the lake, sunglasses on and a book in hand. When he stopped in front of her, she pushed her shades up and crossed her arms when she looked at him.  


“Hey,” Johnny said, somewhat lamely. When she didn’t respond, he sighed and ran his hand through his hair. “Look, I’m sorry about bailing last night. I just got sort of...overwhelmed?”  


Amanda snorted and sat up, gesturing for him to sit in the chair next to her. She stared Johnny down for a few more seconds before having pity and saying, “It’s fine.” She uncrossed her arms and leaned back, getting comfortable. “I guess it was an understandable reaction to being swept off your feet by Daniel LaRusso.” She batted her eyes dramatically and Johnny could hear in her voice that she was trying not to laugh at him. He tried to keep his face neutral but he must have given something away because she leaned in, suddenly serious, and added, “Really, though, are you okay? What happened?”  


Johnny frowned at her. “Nothing happened,” he said, but he could feel his face heating up and he knew he was screwed.  


“Oh,” Amanda said, “Okay. Because, see, I thought you went from having a great time to looking like you got sucker punched the second you were left alone on the floor. But, hey, as long as nothing happened-”  


“Listen,” Johnny snapped, “What exactly are you saying here?”  


“Oh come on, you’re really gonna be like that, Mr. ‘I Carried A Watermelon?’”  


“What is that even supposed to mean?” Johnny was aware that he was rapidly losing control of the conversation, if he ever had any to begin with. “You weren’t even there for that!”  


Amanda scoffed. “Listen,” she said, and her voice softened a little, “I don’t care either way. I’m just saying, you could have stuck around.” She put her sunglasses back on and turned back to her book.  


Feeling confused and hurt, Johnny got up to leave, but Amanda grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him back to his chair. “Just sit with me, idiot,” she said, and so he did.  


They spent most of the rest of the day together, just sitting there by the lake and spending the time in easy conversation or only slightly-uncomfortable silence. Johnny didn’t share too much with Amanda, but he did tell her some about growing up in Reseda and then Encino after his mom married Sid, and she talked about her childhood on the East Coast. They made fun of each other’s regional quirks. It was...nice, Johnny was surprised to find, the sort of casual friendship he’d written off as something that either didn’t really exist or wasn’t for him. When Amanda left a couple hours before dinner, saying something about getting her hair done with her aunt, Johnny stayed behind and watched the sun set over the lake.  


Johnny thought about what Amanda had said, about him getting “swept off his feet.” He was embarrassed that he’d been so clearly into the whole dancing thing and obviously put out when it had come to its abrupt end, forced to abandon any hope that he had played it even kind of cool. He decided that if he saw that LaRusso guy again, he’d give him a piece of his mind - or at least stand his ground, no matter how he moved his hips. Satisfied with himself, Johnny went back up to his cabin to get dressed and ready for dinner. He was optimistic that his hitting it off with Amanda would discourage any further awkward matchmaking, and he wasn’t looking forward to the meal but he wasn’t deeply dreading it, either. When his mom came to get him to head over to the main hall, he actually felt okay, maybe even prepared for the evening. He ended up being sat at a table far from Amanda, but he kept his head down and ate his bad food and made polite conversation and got through the whole ordeal relatively smoothly.  


And then, of course, everything went to hell. 

***

After dinner, Amanda met up with Johnny and asked if he wanted to hang out with her for a while. There wasn’t a staff party that night (not that Johnny would be likely to survive another one of those), so they decided to sort of just wander around aimlessly until they found something to do. They hadn’t even been at it five minutes when they opened a door to an empty entertainment room and found Ali, curled up in a corner and sobbing.  


Johnny, ill-equipped to handle the situation, immediately froze in place while Amanda rushed over to see what was wrong. When Ali just started crying even harder, Amanda turned to Johnny and yelled at him to go find Daniel.  


Johnny was going to protest for a few reasons, but Amanda narrowed her eyes at him before he could open his mouth and he could tell she was going to absolutely kick his ass if he didn’t start moving so he turned around and booked it out of the building. He found Bobby almost immediately, who took lead when Johnny explained the situation. They found Daniel coming out of what appeared to be some sort of private dance lesson with a few older women. His bright smile fell when he saw Johnny and Bobby running up the hall to him.  


“Hey,” he said, looking confused, “What’s going on?”  


Bobby got out, “It’s Ali,” before Daniel cut him off and asked where she was, sounding panicked. Johnny led them all back to the empty entertainment room back by the main hall, where Amanda was rubbing soothing circles on Ali’s back while she hiccuped quietly, head in her hands.  


Ali looked up when the door opened, and Daniel skidded to a stop and knelt in front of her. Before he could say anything, Ali spoke. “It’s my mom,” she said, voice tight, “There was a car accident or something, she’s in the hospital. They don’t know if she’s going to be okay.”  


Daniel reached out and touched her shoulder. “You gotta go, Ali,” he said, voice soft despite his clenched jaw and the tension visible throughout his body.  


Ali shook her head, looking miserable. “You know I can’t, Daniel,” she said, “There’s no way I’d be back in time for the show up at the other resort and then we won’t get paid -”  


Daniel cut her off. “Don’t be stupid,” he said, “It sounds serious. You need to be there.”  


Ali started crying again, said, “That’s not fair to you, I couldn’t just leave you without a partner. We both know you need this job even more than I do.”  


“If you stay,” said Daniel, “I won’t do it anyways. Swear to God, Ali, I’m not going to be the reason you stay here when your family needs you.”  


“Could someone step in for you?” Amanda asked, arm around Ali’s shoulders.  


Daniel looked up at her. “I appreciate the thought,” he said, “But who the hell would do it? You’re a great dancer, but I know your dad would kill you and then just fire me anyways. I don’t know anybody else here who’d-”  


“I’ll do it.” Johnny didn’t realize he’d said it until everyone was staring at him. He cleared his throat, and then realized he didn’t have anything else to add. There was an uncomfortable silence.  


Eventually Daniel broke it, saying “You?” He sounded incredulous. Johnny, who couldn’t really believe himself either, just gave a one-shouldered shrug. Daniel laughed, and it sounded bitter. “I’m sure you’re real proud of yourself right now for offering to help out the less-fortunates,” he said, voice dripping with sarcasm, “But this isn’t some fun little lawn game you can pick up and get bored with the next day. Not that this means anything to you, but this is high stakes for us, so why don’t you just run on back to daddy’s cabin and forget about it, alright?”  


“Daniel,” Amanda said, sharp. He snapped his head around to face her and they stared each other down, both looking furious. Johnny was about to storm out of the room, chivalry and good samaritans be damned, when Ali cleared her throat.  


“Look, Daniel,” she said, quiet enough that they all strained to hear her, “It’s not a great idea - no offense, Johnny - but what else are you going to do?” The room was quiet. “If you’re going to make me go, you won’t get paid anyways, and I really don’t think anyone else would care enough to help, so what do you have to lose? You might as well try.”  


Daniel looked between her and Johnny, who refused to break eye contact even as he felt his face heat up under the scrutiny. Daniel sighed heavily and ran a hand over his face. “Fine,” he said, “I’ll think about it.” He turned back to Ali. “Either way, you have to go, so let’s go get you packed, yeah?” He grabbed her hand and stood, pulling her up with him. He and Amanda flanked her as they walked out of the room, Johnny feeling awkward walking next to Bobby as they followed. He didn’t dare say anything, not that he had anything to offer. At the staff quarters, he stayed outside while Daniel, Bobby, and Amanda went in to help Ali get started. He didn’t really know what he was sticking around for, and after a few minutes he was about to leave when the door opened and Daniel stepped out onto the porch.  


They just looked at each other for several long seconds. “I’m sorry,” Johnny offered, even though he wasn’t sure exactly what he was apologizing for.  


Daniel stepped down onto the grass so he was standing only a couple feet away from Johnny, leaning back on a wood pillar. “Why’d you offer to do this?”  


Johnny shrugged and said, “I want to help if I can.” He shoved down any thoughts about selfish motivations involving Daniel’s hands back on his hips, pressed up against him.  


“You don’t even know us,” Daniel said, and his voice sounded caught midway between irritated and amazed.  


“No,” Johnny agreed, “But I like Amanda, and she clearly cares about Ali. And you.” When Daniel didn’t respond, Johnny added, “How long have you two been together, anyways?”  


Daniel blinked. “What?”  
“You and Ali,” Johnny clarified. “It’s sort of obvious how close you are, and Bobby mentioned something about you all growing up together.”  


Daniel furrowed his brow and let out a little incredulous scoff. “We’re not together,” he said. “We have known each other since we were kids, but we never...Well. I guess Bobby must not have told you the whole deal.”  


Johnny remembered how little he’d caught when Bobby was talking at the party, and wanted to go back and yell at himself to pay attention. Instead, he just prompted, “Which is?”  


Daniel raised his eyebrows. “I love Ali, I do,” he said, “But she’s...not exactly my type?”  


Johnny frowned at the non-answer, but then Daniel leveled him with a look, and - oh. Johnny refused to let himself examine or in any way deal with the way his heart sped up in his chest as Daniel let his eyes roam over his face.  


Daniel’s lips quirked into a half smile, but Johnny was saved from saying or doing anything monumentally stupid when Amanda stepped out onto the porch and said that Ali needed help with something. Daniel held Johnny’s eyes for a second longer, then said, “I’ll come find you tomorrow.” He turned around and walked into the house without looking back.  


Amanda squeezed his shoulder as he walked in, and then turned and came down the porch stairs to join Johnny. She sighed. “Do you want to steal some champagne and go sit by the lake or something? Because I feel like we need to talk about this.”  


Johnny frowned and said, “What is ‘this’-” he made air quotes aggressively “- even supposed to mean?”  


“Okay,” said Amanda, “So clearly we do need to talk.” She patted Johnny on the back, looped her arm through his, and started walking. They ended up just sitting at a picnic table a little over halfway back to their cabins. When it became clear that she would have to speak first if she wanted a conversation to happen, Amanda just said, “Come on, Johnny. Talk to me.”  


Johnny had hundreds of things he wanted to say, ranging from defensive to accusatory to pleading. He opened and closed his mouth a few times. “I don’t even know how to dance,” he said finally, and lowered his head so it was resting on the table, his face hidden.  


“Daniel’s a good teacher,” Amanda said. Johnny picked up his forehead a little and slammed it back into the table with a dull thud. Above him, he heard Amanda add, “Really, he is. Well, if you can get past all the Jersey attitude.” She paused. “Well, okay, he is kind of a shithead when you first meet him.” Another thud. “But he should come around!”  


Johnny hit his head against the table one last time before he sat up slowly and looked at Amanda, who suddenly appeared concerned. “I don’t know if you noticed,” he said, “But LaRusso already hates me. I don’t really think that’s going to improve any as he gets to know me better.”  


Amanda frowned and said, “What’s that supposed to mean?”  


“It means,” said Johnny uncomfortably, “That he wasn’t too far off the mark, okay? I’m not,” he cleared his throat, “Great. With helping people. Or whatever.”  


“Why did you even offer, then?”  


Johnny shrugged. “I guess I panicked.” He looked at Amanda, who was frowning. “I just don’t do well in tense situations. Obviously. I should probably just back out now, actually.”  


“Okay,” she said, “First of all? I don’t really buy the whole selfish asshole thing. Don’t argue, I won’t listen.” Johnny closed his mouth. “Second of all, you do know you have to follow through with this now, right? Even if it’s super tense and you keep having little -” she waved her hand, searching for a phrase “-freak outs?”  


“I’ve never freaked out in my life,” Johnny said, indignant. He decided to ignore the way Amanda rolled her eyes. “Besides, he said he wouldn’t dance whether Ali stayed or left, so who cares?”  


Amanda put her face in her hands and muttered something under her breath that sounded like it included the words goddamn idiot. She took a deep breath and raised her face so she was looking Johnny in the eye again. “He would’ve been fine with dropping out for Ali’s sake,” she said. She was speaking slowly like Johnny was stupid. (He was starting to feel like maybe he was.) “But if Daniel doesn’t get to finish out the season because you decided to bail, I think he might actually kill you.”  


They were both silent for a moment. Johnny looked down and peeled some flaking paint off of the picnic table. He looked back up when Amanda sighed.  


“Look,” she said, “Just give it a chance, alright? Daniel can have a mean bark but he’s not a bad guy. And who knows,” she added, smirking, “You might even have a good time.” She winked at him.  


Johnny blinked. “What is that supposed to mean? Don’t give me that look.”  


“Johnny, your face is bright red.”  


“It is not!”  


“You know Daniel and Ali aren’t actually dating, right?” Amanda looked down at her nails innocently. “Just thought you might like to have that information. You know, for dance lesson reasons.”  


“Shut up,” snapped Johnny, without any real heat. There was no way he was going to tell her that yes, he did know, actually, because Daniel seemed to want to make it very clear.  


Amanda laughed and stood up, holding her hand out to Johnny. He took it. “We better get you back,” she said, “You got a big day tomorrow, Mr. Mambo.”  


They resumed walking to the cabins. He frowned and said, “What the hell is mambo?”  


Amanda laughed at him for almost the entire walk back. 

***

The next morning, Johnny woke up feeling tense. He was tense when he got dressed, tense when he ate breakfast with Amanda (who left afterwards to spend the day with her aunt or something), tense when he wandered around looking for a way to kill time, and tense when he eventually settled next to the lake where he’d sat with Amanda the day before. By the time Daniel found him, he was so wound up that he sprang to his feet and almost threw a punch when he felt the tap on his shoulder.  


“Whoa, easy,” said Daniel, raising his hands defensively. “I just came to get you so we can start practicing. I’m free for a couple hours.”  


Johnny blinked. “Oh,” he said, “Okay. Well, uh. Lead the way, I guess.”  


Daniel gave him a look, but Johnny was grateful when he just turned and started walking. Johnny followed, next to him but also slightly behind, unsure of where he was allowed to be in this situation. He didn’t really want to talk, but the silence was uncomfortable, and he didn’t want to seem like too much of an asshole, so after a minute he asked, “How’s Ali?”  


Daniel shrugged, looking straight ahead. “She’s okay,” he said, “Left this morning.” His hands were in his pockets.  


“Are you?” Johnny asked. “Okay, I mean.”  


Daniel didn’t stop walking, but he did glance at Johnny and furrow his brow. “Why do you care?” He sounded defensive. Before Johnny could respond, Daniel added, “Besides, why wouldn’t I be?”  


It was Johnny’s turn to shrug. “I don’t know,” he said, “It just seemed like there was a lot going on last night.”  


“I guess so,” Daniel said quietly. They arrived at a small building. Johnny followed Daniel up the few stairs and through the door. There was a small entryway, and beyond it an open room with windows facing the forest and a scuffed wood floor. It was mostly empty, but there was a bench pushed up against the wall next to the door and a small speaker system in the corner. One wall was made up of mirrors that went almost ceiling to floor, and there was a rail running along the wall opposite.  


Daniel walked to the middle of the room and stood facing Johnny, who was immobilized in the doorway. Daniel called out, “Ready?”  


Johnny was absolutely not ready. He had a feeling he didn’t even know yet what he wasn’t ready for. He had butterflies like a goddamn teenage girl. “Sure,” he said, closing the door behind him as he stepped into the room. It suddenly felt very small. “Don’t we need music?”  


“Not yet,” Daniel said, “It’s actually easier this way, at first.” Johnny found himself unable to step out of the entryway. Daniel rolled his eyes and said, “You know we can’t do this from opposite sides of the room, right? Come on, I won’t bite.”  


Johnny’s mouth went dry, but he started walking forward until he was standing in Daniel’s space, their faces inches apart. Daniel took Johnny’s hands in his own. Daniel raised one up and to the side, and put the other on his shoulder before settling his own hand on Johnny’s waist.  


“I’ll lead, obviously.” Daniel smirked when Johnny frowned. “We’ll start easy, just so you get the feel of it.” He explained the timing and some steps, and then he was sort of pushing Johnny around while humming a waltz. Johnny stared at his feet, surprised every time he didn’t trip over himself. “Hey,” Daniel said after a few seconds. They were settling into a rhythm. “Eyes up here.”  


Johnny took a breath and raised his head. Daniel didn’t look bored, or like was trying not to laugh, which was what Johnny expected. His face was neutral, but something in his eyes was soft when Johnny met them. Johnny immediately stepped on Daniel’s foot and almost pulled them both to the ground. Daniel steadied them with one arm tight around Johnny’s waist and the other hand grabbing his shoulder. Daniel righted them, they resumed their position and started moving again.  


After a few seconds, Daniel stopped, Johnny’s chest bumping into his before he noticed he’d stopped moving. Daniel said, “Relax.”  


Johnny was weirdly irritated. “What does that mean?” He didn’t take a step back.  


The corner of Daniel’s mouth quirked up. “It means,” he said, “That if you were wound any tighter you’d snap. Loosen up a little.”  


Johnny ignored the look on Daniel’s face and tried very hard to relax the muscles in his body. He thought relaxing thoughts. He took what would have been a relaxing breath, but it only made him acutely aware of Daniel’s hand steady on his waist, and then he just seized up even more. He was pretty sure his shoulders were up to his ears.  


“Okay,” Daniel said, a laugh in his voice, “This is obviously something we need to get out of your system before anything else happens.” Daniel dropped his hands and took a step back, and Johnny had to consciously remind himself to lower his own from their positions in the air where Daniel had been. His hands were sweaty. Had they been sweaty this whole time? Had he been dancing with Daniel with sweaty hands? Oh, god. He was doomed.  


Daniel’s voice made him jump. “Jesus Christ,” he said, “Did you actually just tense up even more? How do you get through the day without having a heart attack?”  


“Fuck off, LaRusso,” Johnny bit out without thinking. Daniel just laughed, the asshole. Johnny glared at him. He quieted down.  


“Seriously,” Daniel said, “What’s the problem?” Johnny shrugged, and Daniel sighed. “This isn’t going to work if we don’t communicate.”  


“Why don’t you say something then?” Johnny was going to deflect for as long as he could. He knew why he was stressed out, obviously he did, but it’s not like he wanted to say it or otherwise acknowledge it, and Daniel probably knew anyways because Johnny was as easy to read as a fucking Dick and Jane book. Always had been.  


“I’m not the one who looks like I’m about to explode,” Daniel said, but then he sat down cross legged on the floor and gestured for Johnny to do the same.  


“I don’t know how to dance,” Johnny said with a shrug.  


“Yeah, so you’ve said, hotshot.” Daniel looked like he was fighting a strong urge to roll his eyes. Johnny appreciated the effort on his part. “Besides,” Daniel continued, “You weren’t bad at the party. Or, at the very least, you weren’t this goddamn tense.” He leaned back on his hands and leveled a look at Johnny.  


Johnny, for his part, was trying to quickly weigh the pros of blaming it on his single beer that night against the cons of seeming like the world’s most embarrassing lightweight. He opened his mouth, hoping something would find its way there from his brain. To his immense regret, what came out was: “I didn’t know how much you didn’t like me then.”  


Daniel frowned at him before understanding flashed across his face. “If this is about what I said last night,” he sighed, “I’m not gonna say I didn’t mean it, at the time, but I probably could’ve been less of a dick about it. So, I’m sorry. About that.” Johnny felt himself relax somewhat. Daniel cleared his throat. “Why did you volunteer though, really? No one’s that nice to friends of friends. You haven’t known Amanda that long.”  


Johnny debated arguing, doubling down on his previous reason or coming up with some new bullshit, but Daniel was looking at him like he really wanted to know, and he folded. “When I saw you and Ali dancing on that stage…” He trailed off and tried to actually think through what he was trying to say. “I’d never seen that before, you know? It just seemed - I don’t know how to say it. Real, or something.” He let himself smile faintly. “I wanted to know how you did that. So really, I guess I offered because…I don’t know if this sounds selfish or what, but I sort of felt like I had to jump on the opportunity to try and learn it. From you.” Johnny had meant to cushion his reason with some sort of glib nonsense that made it harder to detect, but it was too late, and it was out there. He was looking at a point on the far wall over Daniel’s left shoulder, and he made himself look back into Daniel’s face.  


Daniel looked thoughtful. Johnny realized that he’d forgotten to stop himself from caring too much about this, and now it felt like Daniel could shatter him with the wrong word. Johnny was suddenly, irrationally, angry with Daniel for somehow putting him in this position. He aggressively ignored the little voice in the back of his head that said You got into this on your own, idiot. He didn’t even want you here. He was on the verge of doing something stupid, like yelling at Daniel or apologizing for some reason or, God forbid, talking more about his stupid feelings or whatever when Daniel stood up without a word and reached out a hand for Johnny to take. He took it.  


“Alright,” Daniel said. Johnny realized his palms had stopped sweating. “I think we’re ready to try this with music.” Daniel went over to the speaker in the corner and fiddled with it until it started spitting out sound. He walked back over to Johnny and arranged them into the starting position. He said, “You ready?” When Johnny nodded, Daniel smiled, soft but bright, genuine, and said, “Then let’s go, baby.”  


Johnny failed entirely to stop his face from going red. Daniel didn’t say anything about it, at least. Johnny would take his luck where he could get it.  


Dancing with Daniel now wasn’t like at the party, where he’d been loose and pushy with his hands (and his hips) on Johnny. Here he was more reserved, precise - which, Johnny supposed, was the whole point of a teacher, but he couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed. Still, there was a different sort of intimate closeness here, just the two of them moving across the floor. They kept at it for a little over an hour. By the end of it, they had found a comfortable rhythm together, movements getting more fluid with every practice round.  


Eventually Daniel had to go teach a class, and they got ready to go their separate ways. Before they split, though, Daniel put his hand on Johnny’s shoulder and gave him that soft sincere smile again. “Don’t let it go to your head or anything,” he said, “But I guess I am glad you’re doing this with me.” He squeezed Johnny’s shoulder and started walking away.  


“Hey,” Johnny said. Daniel stopped and turned to face him. Johnny thought about all the things he wanted to say and settled on: “Thank you.”  


Daniel looked at him quizzically, like he couldn’t figure out where the words were coming from. Johnny was worried he’d come off as insincere or at least awkward, but Daniel just quirked the side of his mouth up into a half smile and nodded before he turned and walked out the door.  


Johnny stayed in the empty studio until dinner, practicing the routine. 

***

The next few days were easy, all things considered. Johnny’s free time was spent mostly with Daniel or Amanda. When he was on his own, he’d try to find an empty room to practice in if he could. No one would argue that Johnny was Baryshnikov or anything, least of all himself, but there was no doubt he was getting better at the whole dancing thing. After the first day, something had shifted between him and Daniel that made their time spent together easier. Maybe even nice, when Johnny let himself be a little honest. It turned out that their harsher edges sort of complimented each other, and they got along well once the initial barrier had been degraded.  


Well, mostly. They hit occasional rough patches, when one of them was stubborn about something stupid or too quick to take offense. They always moved past it pretty quickly - until the end of the week, the day before the performance, when they almost didn’t move past it at all.  


“Jesus Christ,” Daniel snapped after Johnny stumbled and almost sent the both of them sprawling for the third time in a row. He pulled away abruptly, muttering to himself and rubbing his forehead.  


Johnny bristled. “What’s your problem, man?”  


Daniel raised his head and glared. “My problem,” he said, “Is that this really shouldn’t be that hard.”  


“What’s that supposed to mean?”  


“It means,” said Daniel, “That if you can’t even do this, we might as well quit right now.” He was speaking slowly, like he thought Johnny was stupid.  


“Look,” said Johnny, who could feel anger starting to burn in his chest, “If you want to quit, fine, but don’t make your issues about me.”  


“My issue is you,” Daniel said, raising his voice slightly. He took a step towards Johnny. “Coming in on your high horse, which would be bad enough, but then you can’t even be bothered to make an effort.”  


“What do you want from me?” Johnny said. He could feel the unexpected hurt stoke the flames. “I’m trying, here, asshole.”  


“No, you’re right,” Daniel said, quiet and too calm. He laughed a little. “You’re right. It’s not your fault that you don’t know how to give a shit. This is all my fault for thinking I could actually rely on someone who’s clearly never had to work for something in his life-”  


“You don’t know me,” Johnny hissed, pointing an accusatory finger at Daniel. “You don’t know what I’ve been through.”  


Daniel scoffed and took another step closer. “Been through?” He sounded incredulous. “What could you have possibly dealt with up in your little fucking California mansion? You think you know about the real world? Grow up.”  


Johnny snapped. “Oh, I need to grow up?” He was in Daniel’s face now. “You think a nice house means nice things are happening inside? You’re really that naive?”  


Daniel frowned and his face softened - just a little, but it made Johnny even more angry, somehow. “Johnny-” He was cut off before he could even finish saying the name.  


“No,” Johnny said, “You know what? Fuck you, LaRusso. I don’t need this shit.” He spun around to leave, but Daniel caught him by the arm.  


“Wait,” he said, “I’m sorry.”  


Johnny, against his better judgment, turned around to face Daniel. He looked sincerely sorry, and his hand on Johnny’s arm wasn’t really helping to strengthen the latter’s resolve. Johnny frowned but stayed put. Daniel looked like he was about to start talking a few times before he shrugged and said, “How do you feel about a field trip?”  


Johnny blinked, caught off guard. “What am I, six?”  


Daniel, predictably, rolled his eyes. “Come on,” he said, “It’ll be good. Trust me.”  


Johnny frowned at him. When he didn’t say anything for a few moments, the hopeful look on Daniel’s face started to fall. Johnny caved much easier than he thought he would, somewhat disconcerted at how quickly his righteous indignation had been extinguished. “Fine,” he said with a sigh.  


Daniel smiled - not a grin, something softer. He put his bag together and led Johnny out of the studio and towards the staff quarters. Right before they got to the cabins, they took a small detour that led to a parking lot. Daniel walked over to about the ugliest truck Johnny had ever seen and got in the driver’s side. He reached across the seats to push the passenger door open and gave Johnny an expectant look. Johnny sighed and slid reluctantly into the car.  


They sat quietly for some time after they pulled out of the parking lot. After an uncomfortable minute, Daniel broke the silence. “You know,” he said, “My dad died when I was eight.” Johnny turned to look at him, unsure of what to say. He had one arm hanging out of the open window, his hair blowing in the breeze. He glanced at Johnny, like he was gauging his reaction, then back at the road. “Yeah, he, uh,” Daniel cleared his throat. “He got sick. It all happened pretty fast. It was just me and my mom, after that.”  


“Oh,” Johnny said. He weighed his options and decided to return the olive branch. “My old man was never actually in the picture. I grew up with my mom in… well.” He gave a humorless chuckle. “Not a mansion. She married Sid when I was twelve.”  


Daniel hummed in acknowledgment as he pulled onto a dirt road. Pretty soon, they came to the edge of a clearing where he parked. He killed the car and they sat quietly for a few moments. Johnny, unsure of what to do, looked out the window and played with the hem of his shirt. Suddenly, Daniel’s hand was on his arm, and his heart skipped a beat when he turned to look at him.  


“Hey,” Daniel said, “I am sorry. I shouldn’t have...I don’t know.” He took a deep breath. “Assumed anything. Believe it or not, I actually don’t dislike you.” He was giving Johnny that smile again, small and tentative and painfully genuine.  


Johnny immediately deflected. “Gee, thanks, LaRusso,” he said, rolling his eyes, “Really heartwarming stuff.” He started to give a laugh that died in his throat when Daniel squeezed his arm and leaned in to look him in the eye with a serious expression on his face. Johnny was suddenly acutely aware that their faces were inches apart, sitting in this ugly truck in the middle of nowhere. He swallowed.  


“Really,” Daniel said, “I’m glad you’re here.” The inside of the car was very, very quiet. Daniel’s gaze flicked down to Johnny’s lips and then back up at his face. There was a question in his eyes.  


Johnny, naturally, panicked. He felt himself tense up, which made Daniel lean back a little, looking concerned, which further flustered Johnny, who forced out a rushed “I’mGladYou’reHereToo,” before abruptly turning in his seat and getting out of the car. Once he’d shut the door in Daniel’s confused face, he immediately realized his mistake, but it was too late to go back as Daniel had already gotten out himself and was walking around to the front of the car. Johnny wanted to scream. Or maybe punch something. He hadn’t made up his mind.  


Daniel, who was suddenly standing in front of him at a distance, cleared his throat uncomfortably. “Well,” he said, “Are you ready?”  


Johnny bit back a reflexive For what? and just nodded. Daniel gave him a somewhat strained smile and led the way to a path into the trees. After a few minutes, they came to a creek with a wide log laying across it several feet above the water. Johnny suspected that he both knew what was coming and would not be happy about it, but he stayed quiet. Daniel, the asshole, just confirmed his suspicions by stepping up gracefully onto the log and walking to stand on it about midway across the creek. When it became clear that Johnny was not extremely willing to play along, Daniel rolled his eyes and gestured for him to get up on the log.  


“Come on,” he said, walking back over to the end nearest Johnny, “Don’t be a baby. The water’s there for if you fall.”  


Johnny looked at Daniel’s hand, then down at the creek, then back up at Daniel’s face. He sighed and said, “Fine,” and climbed up onto the log much less elegantly than Daniel had. It took him a few seconds to even gain his balance enough to stand without waving his arms around. Daniel, to his credit, did not laugh.  


“Alright,” he said, clapping his hands together, “Let’s get started. Try to find your center, really focus on your balance while we do this.”  


Johnny frowned. “‘Find my center?’ What does that even mean?”  


“You know,” Daniel said, giving a vague gesture, “Just, take a few deep breaths and think about where you are, how you feel. Try and connect with yourself. With everything around you, if you can.”  


Johnny did not particularly want to think about where he was or how he felt, but he tried to do it enough that Daniel wouldn’t push him too much. He didn’t want to focus on himself, so he focused around himself instead. He noticed the light coming through the trees and the birds calling out around them, the sound of the creek under them. If he let himself relax, the whole thing was actually pretty...nice. And in the middle of it all, of course, was Daniel. Daniel, who tried to listen to Johnny, who understood him more after a few days than he thought maybe anyone ever had. Daniel, who’d given Johnny an opportunity that he’d literally slammed the door on.  


God damn it.  


Johnny felt himself teeter on the log, but he regained his footing before he fell. Daniel smiled a little, said, “Okay, good,” and then was going off on some speech about balance and trust and partnership. Johnny was wondering why he couldn’t have just said all this back at the resort, but then he was taking Johnny’s hand and -  


“There is no way we’re dancing on this thing.” Johnny didn’t snatch his hand back, but only because he thought it would probably make him fall.  


Daniel gave out a soft laugh. “Trust me,” he said, and - God help him - Johnny did. Daniel guided them through some simple steps back and forth before continuing gradually to harder moves. Johnny lasted an extremely wobbly five minutes before he fell into the creek.  


From the indignant sputtering next to him when he surfaced, he was guessing that Daniel hadn’t expected him to grab him on his way down.  


“Christ,” Daniel said, shaking water out of his eyes, “What the hell was that for?”  


“I thought we were a team, LaRusso,” Johnny said. He flicked some water in Daniel’s direction and was rewarded with an exasperated sigh. “I go down, you’re coming with me.”  


Daniel shot him a look that seemed like he was trying to glare but also stop himself from laughing at the same time. “Yeah, yeah,” he said, moving to get out of the water, “You’re a real pain in the ass, you know that?”  


“You’re right,” Johnny said with exaggerated contrition, staying where he was. “We should call this whole exercise off right now. Wouldn’t want your makeup to get ruined.”  


“Yeah, right,” Daniel said from the bank of the creek. His hair was still dripping and his shirt was clinging to his body and - well, somewhere in the back of his mind, Johnny had known he was in good shape, the guy was a dancer, after all, but Jesus. This was just unfair. Daniel kept talking, said, “You’re not getting out of this that easily. Back up on the tree, asshole.” He himself smoothly got back onto the log.  


Johnny looked up at him, standing there with his hands on his hips, the afternoon light through the leaves practically giving him a halo. Johnny sank lower into the water. He wanted to find whoever was responsible for this travesty of a situation and scream in their face, Are you kidding me? He thought about how he would do anything to go back to the parked truck at the edge of the clearing. To make it not too late for him to be tremendously stupid - but, like, in a way that ended with them lying in the bed of the truck by now instead of in this ridiculous position. Johnny actually wanted to die.  


“Come on, princess,” Daniel called from his high horse (high log?), and Johnny heaved a long suffering-suffering sigh and pulled himself out of the water, all the way up the bank and back onto the godforsaken tree. He resigned himself to being miserable for the rest of the afternoon. Then Daniel pulled him in close again and Johnny figured that, well, there were worse ways to spend his time.  


Johnny didn’t lose his balance too many more times, after that, but he was sure to drag Daniel down with him when he did. They kept going until it got too cold to stay out in clothes that were soaking wet, and then they made the short walk back to Daniel’s truck. They didn’t talk on the drive back, but, unlike the drive there, it was comfortable (if Johnny could ignore the way his own teeth were chattering).  


When they’d gotten back to the resort and were ready to go their separate ways, Daniel looked at Johnny and said, “Are you ready for tomorrow?”  


Johnny shrugged. “I don’t know,” he said, “You tell me. You’re the expert.”  


Daniel smiled. He reached out and gave Johnny’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “You’ll be great,” he said, and then he was turning around and walking away.  


Miraculously, Johnny made it back to his cabin quickly enough that he was showered and changed by the time his mom and Sid came to get him for dinner. He sat at a table next to Amanda, who seemed to understand that Johnny was not in the mood to be interrogated and mostly left him alone about the day. (He was suspicious, however, that she was only happy to leave him be because she was planning on going to bother Daniel after dinner. Or maybe, even worse, she already had. Johnny, irrationally, wanted to issue a ban on talking about him for all past and future conversations between the two.)  


After dinner, Johnny retreated to his room and went over the dance a few times until he realized he was exhausted and fell into bed. Despite his nervousness about the next day, he fell asleep almost immediately. If all his dreams were about wet t-shirts and shared heat - well, that was his business, wasn’t it? 

***

For all of the buildup and stress, the dance the next day came about relatively smoothly.  


Johnny spent the day practicing with Amanda (who was far too amused by the fact that she was leading) while Daniel was busy teaching classes, and then it was suddenly time to head out for the performance. Johnny didn’t have a car, so Daniel gave him a ride. The drive was fairly short, but it felt excruciatingly long. They got ready in separate rooms, which Johnny told himself was a good thing, and then they were suddenly backstage about to be introduced.  


Johnny was abruptly hit by the reality of the situation. God, he was going to be dancing, on a stage, in front of people, what the hell was he thinking? He was wondering whether the embarrassment of backing out now would kill him before Daniel got a chance to when the man in question picked up on his anxiety.  


“Hey,” he said. Johnny looked at him, eyes a little too wide. Daniel stepped around so he was standing directly in front of him, and then his hand was on the back of Johnny’s neck and he was pushing their foreheads together.  


Johnny, who had suddenly stopped breathing, wasn’t really sure how this was supposed to calm him down. He realized that Daniel, on top of everything else, had fucking Bambi eyes, was there truly no justice in the world? Johnny wanted to punch him in the face.  


“Hey,” Daniel said again, quiet and calm. “The most important thing is to keep your eyes on me, okay?” Johnny stared mutely. “Forget everything else, it’s just you and me, alright?” When Johnny closed his eyes and took a deep breath, Daniel stepped back and clapped him on the shoulder. “You ready?” he asked. Johnny nodded, and Daniel grinned. “Alright,” he said, “Then let’s go, baby.”  


Johnny was being pulled onstage before he had a chance to really process that, which was probably a good thing. Then he was up on a stage in front of a crowd and the music started and all he could register was the light in his eyes and Daniel in his space.  


It all went surprisingly smoothly. No one would accuse Johnny of being, y'know, Baryshnikov or anything, but he hit his marks and got through without making any mistakes big enough to really notice.  


The second they were back offstage, Johnny was suddenly, overwhelmingly exhausted. He probably would have just sunk to the floor and sat there if Daniel, beaming and unbothered, hadn’t thrown an arm around him and started dragging him in the direction of the dressing room. Daniel was talking at him, fast and animated, but Johnny couldn’t quite get himself to listen, so he just let himself be pulled into the dressing room and pushed down onto a couch that was surprisingly comfortable. Daniel pushed a cold bottle of water into his hand and sat down next to him, angled towards him. “Drink some water,” he said, the first words Johnny understood. “You’ll feel better. I know, it’s a lot.”  


Johnny took his advice and downed half the bottle. Feeling more present, he turned to look at Daniel, whose face had softened into a sort of quiet elation. Some pride, even. Johnny blinked. “Did, I, uh,” he cleared his throat. “Was that okay?”  


Daniel grabbed his shoulders. “Johnny,” he said, suddenly looking and sounding very serious, “That was great.” Johnny rolled his eyes, and Daniel continued. “No, I mean it.” He ducked his head to make Johnny meet his eyes. “The audience loved it. But fuck them, more importantly,” he leaned in close, “That felt good. You were good, Johnny.”  


Johnny tried to swallow the lump in his throat. He looked down at Daniel’s lips, and then back up at his shining eyes. He told himself there was no way he was misreading the signs, he couldn’t be, not with the day at the creek, and even if he was, it might be worth getting his ass kicked anyways, so he steeled himself and started to lean in. Before he could get very far - far enough to matter, at least - someone started to open the door and he sprung away and to his feet. Daniel frowned at the group of people who entered and started going through their preparations, but then he was on his feet in front of Johnny. “C’mon,” he said, taking Johnny’s hand, “Let’s get out of here.”  


They hurried to gather their stuff and head out of the building. Johnny considered saying something or making a move once they were in the truck, but Daniel started the car and pulled out of the parking lot so quickly he didn’t get past the initial thought. Johnny felt briefly disappointed, but then Daniel glanced at him with unmistakable heat in his eyes, and the feeling rapidly became nervous excitement. Johnny didn’t know what to say, so he didn’t say anything, focusing most of his energy on trying not to bounce his leg or bite his nails or something equally stupid.  


After a few minutes, Daniel spoke. “I don’t think I’ve said this,” he started in a soft voice. “But, thank you.” Johnny looked over at Daniel, who was worrying his bottom lip between his teeth with his eyes fixed on the road. His window was down, and his hair was getting tousled in a way that Johnny decided was entirely unfair. “And, you know, I’m sorry.”  


Johnny frowned, confused, and asked, “For what?”  


They were suddenly pulling into the parking lot of the resort. Daniel put the truck in park and looked at Johnny. “For not wanting to give you a chance.” He smiled a little. “But I’m really glad you made me anyways.”  


Johnny reached over and grabbed Daniel’s hand, and was about to open his mouth when he heard a loud “Son of a bitch” from across the parking lot, and his stomach dropped when he looked up to see Sid storming towards the car, Mark a few steps behind him. He had a slightly insane idea to tell Daniel to just start the car back up and drive away, but he was already opening the door and stepping out, looking confused and pissed off. Johnny had a strong urge to stay in the truck and somehow avoid dealing with all of it, but he quickly realized that would probably just make things worse, so he followed Daniel’s lead and stood near the front of the car, trying not to look scared.  


Sid came to a stop in front of them and bellowed, “Just where the hell have you been?” Mark was still slightly behind him, looking vaguely embarrassed and apologetic. Johnny, already fighting panic bubbling up in his gut, wondered vaguely where Amanda was and wished she was here instead. “Well?” Sid snapped.  


Johnny flinched. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a look of understanding pass across Daniel’s face, and he suddenly hated him for being there. “I had a show-”  


“You don’t have to tell me,” Sid interrupted. “Mark told me all about your little escapades with the goddamn help.”  


Johnny bristled. “What is your problem?” He regretted the question but forced himself not to shrink when Sid took a step forward. He sensed Daniel take a step towards him as well, and tried as hard as he could to telepathically communicate what a stupid idea that was.  


“My problem?” Sid was practically fuming. “You really outdid yourself with this one, boy. Having your little pansy crisis is one thing, but I can’t say that surprises me too much with the way you were raised.”  


“What the hell is-”  


“No,” Sid continued, and Johnny found himself falling silent in spite of himself. “That wasn’t enough. You had to do it so publicly, and with this lowlife.” He gestured at Daniel, who looked about ready to snap.  


“He’s not a lowlife,” Johnny snapped, feeling the scales inside him quickly tipping from anxiety into anger. He didn’t try to stop his voice from raising “You don’t get to-”  


“Don’t you talk back to me!”  


“You don’t know him. Or me -”  


“I know that no son of mine is -”  


“I’m not your fucking son, you piece of -”  


Sid’s backhand took Johnny by surprise. He was so stunned he practically fell onto the ground, hand going up reflexively to his face.  


Johnny was vaguely aware of Daniel stepping in front of him, yelling, “Don’t you fucking touch him,” at the same time that Mark gave out a surprised shout. There was some blood on Johnny’s fingers. He could feel where the stupid little signet ring Sid always wore had cut his cheek. He just stared at his hand as there was more yelling, and then sounds of a fight, and then a whole flurry of action that involved Daniel being dragged off of Sid and Sid being dragged away from Johnny, who nobody touched.  


As the whole group started moving away, Johnny couldn’t guess where, there was a hand on Johnny’s shoulder that made him jump. He looked up to see Bobby, who was holding a hand out. Johnny took it and pulled himself up. He opened his mouth and then realized he didn’t know what to say. His hand went back up to his cheek. He couldn’t tell if it was wet because he was bleeding or crying. Bobby just put an arm around his shoulders and started steering him gently towards the staff cabins. He felt like he blinked and then he was sitting on a couch in one of the cabins, Bobby getting a can of beer out of a mini fridge and handing it to him to press against his cheek.  


“It doesn’t hurt that bad,” Johnny protested.  


Bobby frowned. “It’ll bruise,” he said with a knowing look, and then he sat down at a desk a few feet away with his own can of beer. “First time?”  


Johnny scoffed and put the can up against his face. He wouldn’t admit it, but the cold did feel good on his skin. “Not exactly.”  


Bobby hummed in acknowledgment. Johnny took the beer away from his face, cracked open the can, and took a drink. He suddenly realized that he had no idea what had actually happened in the parking lot after he’d hit the ground. He shuffled through his priorities and settled on, “Where’d LaRusso go?”  


Bobby shrugged. “It looks like they were all going to the main office.”  


“Shit.” If Daniel got arrested over this, Johnny was going to lose it. He already felt like he was being split down the middle between guilt and anger.  


Bobby noticed the look on Johnny’s face and said, “I wouldn’t worry too much. Mark’s usually a reasonable guy.”  


“Usually?”  


“Daniel didn’t strike first. He was in the right, anyone can see that.”  


They sat drinking in silence. Suddenly, a door slammed nearby. Bobby sighed. “You should probably go talk to him,” he said, and Johnny realized it was Daniel. “He’s the next cabin over.”  


Johnny nodded and stood up. “Thank you,” he said to Bobby, and they shook hands, which made Johnny feel weirdly old and tired. He walked out of Bobby’s cabin and up to Daniel’s. The door was ajar, and Johnny pushed it open quietly. Daniel, furiously going through the beginning stages of what looked like packing, didn’t notice him until he stepped inside and closed the door behind him with a soft click.  


They stared at each other for a moment. Daniel said, “Johnny,” but immediately trailed off. He had a pained look on his face.  


Johnny cleared his throat. “I’m sorry.”  


Daniel frowned. “For what?”  


“For all that. For everything.” Johnny ran a hand over his face and gestured at the suitcase open on the floor. “For getting you fired, I’m guessing.”  


Daniel hesitated, but then walked over to stand in front of Johnny. Johnny tried to look at the floor, the ceiling, anywhere to avoid handling the look in Daniel’s eyes, something protective and sad. Daniel took his face in his hands gently.  


“Hey,” he said quietly, “It’s not your fault.”  


Johnny did look at him then, and when their eyes met he was glad he was still leaning against the door for support. He didn’t know what to say, so he didn’t say anything, just facing Daniel mutely with his heart thundering in his chest. Daniel gave the barest hint of a sad smile and gently ran his thumb over the cut on Johnny’s cheekbone, and that’s when Johnny snapped. Overcome by a sudden rush of emotion that felt like everything was catching up with him all at once, he grabbed Daniel’s face with both hands and finally, finally slid their lips together. Daniel gave a gentle sigh, which was really almost too much for Johnny to handle as he slid an arm around Daniel’s shoulders and clung there like his life depended on it.  


They pulled apart, just barely, foreheads resting together. Daniel’s eyes were still closed, but he opened them to meet Johnny’s. He smiled, ran his hand through Johnny’s hair. “You sure about this? Because I gotta be honest, there have been some mixed messages here -”  


Johnny, who had never been more sure about anything in his life, just closed the distance between them again. Daniel made a soft noise in the back of his throat, and then he was pulling Johnny away from the door and into the room and they made their way across the floor in a lopsided, rhythmless waltz. When they reached the bed, Daniel gently pushed Johnny onto his back - and then, apparently dead set on killing Johnny before they even got to the good part, threw one leg over his lap and leaned back in. Johnny meant to make some sort of remark about how pushy Daniel was, but then he was doing something with his hips that put anything he did on stage to shame, and Johnny figured fuck it, he was used to following the guy’s lead anyways.  


They took their time. Daniel was slow and gentle, which was nice until it was almost frustrating, and then Johnny’s mouth found a spot on his neck that made him groan and pick up the pace a little. Maybe a lot. Johnny wasn’t really keeping track, honestly, he was sort of busy. Daniel’s was trailing kisses down Johnny’s face, the side of his neck, and when he reached Johnny’s collarbone it made him say Daniel’s name in a voice that he realized sounded upsettingly like a whine, and that was the end of any sort of control either of them had on the situation.  


When they were done, they stayed tangled up in Daniel’s sheets, trading lazy kisses. Daniel pressed a kiss over Johnny’s heart, which should’ve been cheesy and gross but somehow wasn’t, and then laid his head on his chest while they caught their breath.  


Johnny, growing increasingly aware of his lack of experience with things like this, wondering if he was overstaying his welcome, eventually said, “So, should I-”  


“Stay,” Daniel said before he could finish talking. Daniel sighed softly and tightened his arm around Johnny’s waist. “Just...stay.”  


So Johnny did. 

***

Daniel was already awake by the time Johnny opened his eyes in the morning. It was still early, the room full of soft golden light. Johnny, still half asleep, smiled at Daniel and said, “Hey,” which immediately made him feel like an idiot.  


Daniel just smiled back at him and ran his fingers through his hair. “Hey,” he said, only sounding like he was laughing at Johnny a little, before leaning over and giving him a gentle kiss. He pulled back enough to meet Johnny’s eye, looking mildly concerned. “How are you? You okay?”  


Johnny smirked. “You’re good, LaRusso,” he said, “But you’re not that good.”  


Daniel rolled his eyes. “First of all,” he said, “I beg to differ.” Johnny laughed before he continued, “But you know that’s not what I meant.”  


And yeah, Johnny did know. He could tell Daniel was trying to stop himself from looking too hard at Johnny’s cheekbone, where there was definitely a bad scrape and probably a bruise by now. He looked for words, failed to find them, and settled on a shrug, trying to school his features into something that looked tough instead of tired.  


Daniel sighed and asked, “What are you going to do?”  


Johnny blinked. “About what?”  


“I mean,” Daniel looked troubled, “You can’t just go back with that asshole.” Johnny raised an eyebrow, which made Daniel frown. “You can’t, Johnny,” he said insistently.  


Johnny shrugged again and said, “It happens, LaRusso.” He suddenly felt like he couldn’t meet Daniel’s gaze. He had a feeling he knew what he would see there, what was coming next, all the concerned looks and arguments of someone who meant well but didn’t really understand. Before Daniel could say anything else, Johnny returned the question, asking, “What are you going to do, anyways?”  


Daniel took Johnny’s hand, ran his thumb over his knuckles. “Go home,” he said, a shrug in his voice. “Back to Jersey. Be there for Ali.” He squeezed Johnny’s hand and added, almost too quiet to be heard, “You could come with me.” Johnny did meet Daniel’s eye then, his face open and almost vulnerable. Before he could answer, Daniel smiled a little, looking sad. “It’s okay,” he said, “I know. You don’t have to say it.”  


Overwhelmed and unsure of how to explain himself, Johnny just leaned over Daniel and pressed their lips together in a bruising kiss, trying to somehow convey everything he felt and wanted to say but wasn’t able to find the words for. Daniel, reaching up to meet him, seemed to understand.  


Eventually they broke apart. They didn’t want to, but the unfortunate reality was that Daniel was still fired and Johnny didn’t know what had happened with Sid the night before, and they both had shit to deal with. Daniel seemed to come to the same realization, and they got dressed together in silence that was heavy but not uncomfortable. In what felt like no time at all, Johnny was standing by the door.  


“Hey,” he said, and Daniel looked up at him. His throat felt tight, so he cleared it before he continued. “Don’t leave without saying goodbye, okay?”  


Daniel gave him an unhappy, lopsided grin. “I won’t,” he said, and then Johnny was out the door and into the light of the morning before he could let himself say something stupid like I don’t want you to leave at all.  


The cabin where he’d been staying was strangely quiet when Johnny got back to it, which was probably a good sign. Johnny realized what a dumbass move it had been to spend the night with Daniel when he was already in hot water, so he braced himself before he opened the door, but Sid was nowhere to be seen. There was just that same quiet that he’d noticed outside.  


And then his mom was rushing out of her room to go meet him by the front door, gathering him up into her arms and saying, “Johnny, baby, Mark told me everything, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.” Her cheeks were wet when she pulled back and looked Johnny over, and he could see her try not to flinch when her eyes hit the cut on his face.  


Johnny kept looking over her shoulder. When nothing happened for a few seconds, he looked back at his mom. “Where, uh,” he cleared his throat awkwardly, “Where is he?”  


“Oh, honey,” his mom said, giving him a watery smile, “He’s gone.” She kept talking, telling Johnny about how Mark had threatened to call the cops before getting him escorted off the premises, told Johnny’s mom they could stay if they needed time to make plans, offered to get in contact with some lawyer friends. All Johnny could hear over and over was he’s gone he’s gone he’s gone. He almost wanted to ask what was so different about this time, but he figured he knew the answer - someone saw, and wanted to help. Someone who wouldn’t have to be convinced, someone who cared. That was it, all it really took.  


Johnny realized his mom had gone quiet and was waiting for him to say something. And Johnny was happy, of course he was, he was fucking elated, but the reality of the situation started to sink in. “Shit,” Johnny said, “Where are we going to go?”  


His mom sighed and gave a small shrug. “I don’t know,” she said. “Mark said he wants to discuss some things for a few days. After that, I have a couple friends I could probably stay with until we figure something out, and you can always go back to school early.”  


School. College. Secretly, Johnny was hoping that now Sid was out of the picture, he wouldn’t have to go back, either because of the financial burden or because, as far as he knew, his mom had never been the one to put pressure on him to go. He figured one crisis at a time was probably enough, though, so he just nodded and tried to smile.  


He guessed he wasn’t entirely successful in looking enthusiastic about the idea, because his mom immediately added, “I know it’s not ideal, but it’s the best option right now, unless you can think of someone to stay with.”  


Before his brain could catch up to his mouth, Johnny blurted out, “Daniel said I could go with him.” As soon as the words were out, he gave himself a hard mental kick, and then another when his mom’s face just lit up like he’d fixed everything. Johnny didn’t want to lie to her, not after everything, so he took a deep breath and said, “But ma, he was right about me.” His mom frowned, and guilt ripped through him. “Sid, I mean. He wasn’t wrong about me being…” he trailed off. Christ, he thought, looking up at the ceiling, Why don’t I ever think before I talk, but he pressed on. “About me and Daniel.” He waited a few seconds for her to say something, but when nothing came, he looked back down at her. She was smiling at him.  


“It’s okay,” she said, and Johnny felt like a string somewhere in him that he hadn’t known was pulled impossibly tight finally got cut loose. “I mean,” she continued, “I can’t say I’m not surprised,” she laughed a little, not unkindly, “But it’s okay, honey. It is.”  


Johnny didn’t know what to say, so he didn’t say anything - he just pulled her into the tightest hug he could manage. Johnny barely followed the rest of the conversation, but the gist seemed to be that she thought it would be good for him to spend the rest of the summer far out of the way while things got sorted out, and she liked Daniel for standing up for Johnny, and now that she knew that he’d been spending time with him anyways, she thought he made Johnny seem happier than she’d seen him a long time, or something.  


Everything seemed to happen fast after that. Johnny, who didn’t have that much with him to begin with, took a little under an hour to pack, and then he and his mom went separate ways - she to talk with Mark, Johnny to go find Daniel. Johnny promised to call, and be safe, and let her know where he settled. It wasn’t easy to leave, but it was a happier parting than they’d had in a long time, both hopeful for the future.  


After their final goodbyes, Johnny practically sprinted across the resort to Daniel’s cabin. When he got there, Amanda and Daniel were standing on the porch having what looked like a serious conversation. Daniel’s truck was parked nearby, the back loaded with a few suitcases. They both went quiet and came down the steps onto the grass when they saw Johnny approach, and he could see some quiet confusion enter Daniel’s eyes when he noticed Johnny’s wide smile and the duffel bag by his side.  


Neither of them seemed to know what to say, so Johnny opened with what felt like the most relevant piece of information and said, “She’s leaving him.” The look in Daniel’s eyes slid towards cautious optimism, but as much as Johnny wanted to address that, he turned to focus on Amanda for a moment. “Your dad, if it weren’t for him - thank you.” Johnny was saved from having to think of how to articulate his gratitude when Amanda practically tackled him in a hug. When she stepped back, Daniel was still looking at Johnny thoughtfully. He glanced down at Johnny’s bag and back up to his face.  


“So,” he said, “I guess you’re on your way out?” He sounded caught between proud and sad.  


Johnny bit his lip and weighed his words, settling on: “Did you mean it?” Daniel’s brow furrowed. Johnny continued. “Earlier. About Jersey. Because I don’t mean to brag,” he felt himself start to break into a grin matching the one that had suddenly appeared on Daniel’s face, “But I’ve been told I am an excellent travelling companion.”  


Daniel, eyes shining, said, “Is that so?”  


“No,” Johnny admitted, “I can’t sit still and I complain all the time. But I was sort of hoping you’d let me tag along anyways.”  


Daniel rolled his eyes and laughed. “I think,” he said, taking a step towards Johnny, “I can probably get past your - admittedly numerous - faults.”  


“Asshole,” Johnny said, fondly.  


Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Amanda mutter, “Oh, Jesus Christ,” before making a point to turn away from them and start walking to Daniel’s car.  


Daniel laughed, loud and carefree, before grabbing Johnny’s hand and pulling him in for a kiss that was quick but full of feeling. They walked to the car hand in hand, where Amanda was leaning against the driver’s side door. She said something to Daniel while Johnny tossed his bag in the bed of the truck, and then she was somehow in Johnny’s way.  


“Daniel has my number,” she said, pointing a menacing finger at Johnny’s chest, “And I will hunt you down if you don’t call.” She stared him down for a moment before breaking into a smile, and they hugged one last time before she stepped out of the way and Johnny climbed into the passenger seat. As Daniel started the car, she called, “Stay out of trouble, you two,” and then she was walking back towards the main cabins.  


Finally alone with him, Johnny looked over at Daniel behind the wheel, wearing sunglasses that suited him entirely too well. He said, “You ready?” Johnny nodded. Daniel grinned, put the truck into gear, and said, “Then let’s go, baby,” and they were off.  


Johnny didn’t really believe in happily ever afters, and even if he was, he knew this wasn’t it - he knew that there’d be things to deal with, moving and school and what was likely going to be a grueling divorce proceeding. That he and Daniel weren’t really a pair set for a road without bumps. He knew he was staring down nothing but uncertainties, he wasn’t naive.  


But for now, he was here, in this ugly truck, with Daniel in his sunglasses and windswept hair, Speedwagon on the radio, and for once in his life he had a feeling it would all be okay in the end.

**Author's Note:**

> this. was not supposed to be this long


End file.
